Publications

September 2005 (Revised March 2009)
Background Note

Developing an Effective Living Group

By: Michael Beer, John J. Gabarro and Michael L. Tushman

Discusses the importance of living room groups (eight participants who share a living room) in Harvard Business School's Advanced Management Program developing into effective learning groups. The diversity of the groups is a strength, but only a conscious and concerted... View Details

Keywords: Executive Education; Groups and Teams; Competency and Skills; Learning; Diversity; Growth and Development

July 16, 2015
Article

How Small Businesses Can Fend Off Hackers

By: Lou Shipley

If you wanted to hack a business, which one would you pick: A Fortune 500 company with a large digital-security budget and a team dedicated to protecting its cyberassets? Or a small enterprise that doesn’t employ a single IT security specialist? Security breaches at... View Details

Keywords: Hack; Data Security; Small Business; Analytics and Data Science; Safety; Information Technology; Cybersecurity

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June 2018
Teaching Note

The Transformation of Microsoft

By: C. Fritz Foley and F. Katelynn Boland

Teaching Note for HBS No. 218-048. In early 2015, Amy Hood, CFO of Microsoft, and the rest of the senior leadership team faced a set of fundamental choices. The firm had opportunities to serve customers in ways that would be associated with higher growth but lower... View Details

Keywords: Growth; Corporate Finance; Valuation; Growth Management; Communication Strategy; Transformation; Information Technology Industry; Computer Industry; United States

November 2010 (Revised July 2011)
Case

FreshTec: Revolutionizing Fresh Produce

By: Jose B. Alvarez and Ryan Johnson

Entrepreneurial produce packaging firm, which has developed a disruptive technology that keeps fresh produce and flowers fresh for significantly longer, faces strategic growth decisions. CEO Bob Wright must decide how best to bring his company's unique packaging... View Details

Keywords: Decision Making; Disruptive Innovation; Leadership; Growth and Development Strategy; Product Launch; Supply Chain; Value Creation; Service Industry

05 Nov 2013
News

How to Turn Around Nearly Anything

25 Sep 2018
Video

Out of the Comfort Zone: FIELD Global Immersion

17 Sep 2014
Video

Student Impressions of FIELD

Program

Transforming Customer Experiences

inside sales teams, or other functions central to service delivery Executives in marketing, data analysis, or operations management Human resources executives concerned with driving internal service culture While individuals are invited to attend, cross-functional... View Details

April 2011
Case

Porcini's Pronto: "Great Italian cuisine without the wait!"

By: James L. Heskett and Richard Luecke

Porcini's Inc. operates a chain of 23 full-service restaurants located near shopping malls and downtown areas in the northeastern United States. Known for providing excellent service, Porcini's serves high-quality Italian cuisine made from fresh ingredients. Looking... View Details

22 Aug 2016
Research & Ideas

Master the One-on-One Meeting

Whether you’re a CEO or a line manager, your team is just as important as a group as its members are as individuals. Today’s tech companies offer many perks to attract and retain the best employees. We offer competitive salaries, training... View Details

Keywords: by Julia B. Austin

Program

Leading Change and Organizational Renewal

Recognize how leadership styles and senior team characteristics affect change Make better decisions about change initiatives—even with insufficient information Develop internal communication networks essential to driving initiatives... View Details

July 2020
Case

Kathy Fish at Procter & Gamble: Navigating Industry Disruption by Disrupting from Within

By: Emily Truelove, Linda A. Hill and Emily Tedards

When Kathy Fish, Procter & Gamble’s Chief Research, Development & Innovation Officer, and a 40-year company veteran, stepped into her role in 2014, she was concerned that the world’s leading consumer packaged goods company had lost its capability to produce a steady... View Details

Keywords: Female Protagonist; Organizational Change; Organizational Behavior; Culture Change; Digital; Innovation; Lean Startup; Experimentation; Metrics; Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG); Leadership; Leading Change; Change Management; Organizational Culture; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Disruption; Innovation and Invention; Digital Transformation

12 Mar 2019
Blog Post

What I Learned in the Africa Rising Short Intensive Program

their attempt to enter or thrive in African markets tended to set unrealistic time expectations for their operating teams and/or made unrealistic promises to their investors. Against this backdrop of unrealistic expectations and limited... View Details

09 May 2012
Research & Ideas

Clayton Christensen’s “How Will You Measure Your Life?”

the coach before the tournament finals and explained my situation. He was incredulous. "I don't know what you believe," he said to me, "but I believe that God will understand." Every one of the guys on the team came to... View Details

June 2014
Teaching Note

Steve Carpenter at Cake Financial

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann

After investing $9 million of venture capital, Cake Financial had failed to reach critical mass. In early 2010 Cake's assets were sold and the company was dissolved. Founded in 2006, the San Francisco-based Internet company allowed users to monitor their investments... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Entrepreneurship; Business or Company Management; Business Model; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Strategy; Internet; Financial Services Industry; Web Services Industry

February 2012 (Revised July 2012)
Supplement

Caijing Magazine (B)

By: Karthik Ramanna and G.A. Donovan

In late 2009, Wang Boming, publisher of Caijing Magazine, widely regarded as China's most independent newsmagazine, gathered his core team for an urgent meeting. His pioneering editor Hu Shuli, described for her fiercely independent journalism as "the most dangerous... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Corporate Accountability; Restructuring; Corporate Disclosure; Organizations; Publishing Industry; China